Improvement in flying targets



T. BAKEWELL. Flying-Target.

No. 223,023. Patented Dec. 30,1879.

UNITED STATES PATENT QFFIGE,

THOMAS BAKEWELL, OF ALLEGHENY, PENNSYLVANIA.

lMPROVEMENT IN FLYING TARGETS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 223,023, dated December 30, 1879; application filed November 6, 187 9.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS BAKEWELL, of the cityof Allegheny, in the county of Alleghen y and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Targets; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of my invention, and Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the same.

My invention relates to an improved device for target-practice, to be used instead of pigeons and the glass balls now in common use and it consists of a frame of wire or other suitable material, made in a round or ball shape, or any other design or shape that may be desired, inside of or around which is placed the target, made of thin rubber or any other suitable material which is readily penetrated by shot.

Glass balls have heretofore been most commonly used as a substitute for pigeons in shotgun practice; but their use is accompanied by many objectionable features. The halls, be-' ing of unequal strength and thickness, often fail to break when they are hit by the shot; or, outlle other hand, they are broken by the fall to the ground, and it is often difficult, if not impossible, to tell whether they were hit by the shot or not. Besides this, one of the most objectionable features is, that the ground is slrewed with broken glass, which it is nearly impossible to remove.

My invention is free from these objections, the material used being easily penetrated by shot, and not liable to be broken or injured by the fall lo the ground.

I will now describe my invention, so that others may manufacture and use the same.

The frame a is preferably made of wire or other suitable material, being formed by fastening together two or more wire rings, as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings; or it may be made of a single piece of wire bentinto the required form, as shown in Fig. 1, so as to'make a round or spherical cage or frame, around or inside of which a sphere, b, of flexible material is placed.

The preferable material of which the sphere is made is thin rubber, which may be used as follows: The frame having been prepared, inside of it is placed a small sack or bag, of rubher, which is then filled with air or gas, which causes it to fill or swell out and conform to the shape of the frame, as shown in Fig. 1. The ball or target thus formed is thrown from a suitable trap, such as are used for the glass balls now in use, the wire frame giving it sufficient weight to make it fly steadily, and when it is penetrated by the shot, the air or gases being allowed to escape, the rubber portion of the ball or target will collapse with a report. The frame, however, being still intact, can be .used in the same manner an indefinite number of times.

The rubber may, if desired,- be stretched around the outside of the frame, as shown in Fig. 2, instead of being placed inside, the effect being the same-the rubber collapsing the instant it is penetrated by the shot.

Instead of using rubber, other suit-able material may be used, such as silk or other cloth, paper, skin, or parchment, either by renderin them air-tight and filling them with air or other gases inside of the frame, or by stretchin g the material outsideof the frame, so as to present a surface which will register, by the punctures in it, the number of shot which hit the target or ball.

If desired, feathers or other suitable substance may be placed inside of the ball or target, for the same purpose that they are used in the common glass balls now in use.

I am aware that a weighted collapsible flying target has heretofore been devised, and do not broadly claim such devices; but,

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

A flying target consisting of a metallic frame and a tissue bag drawn over or expanded within the frame, so as to form a hollow target whose surface will register by the, punctures the number of shot which strike the device, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I, the said THOMAS BAKEWELL, have hereunto set my hand.

THOMAS BAKEWELL.

Witnesses:

A. O. J onnsron, J. K.-SMrrH. 

